Burger & Lobster: no reservations. Get there at 11.50 for lunch, or sometime before 5.30pm for dinner if you don’t want to wait for hours! Limited menu (either burger or lobster and fries, GBP20 either choice) – awesome!

For a change of pace outside the city:

River Café, relaxed Italian with great quality food, a 20 min taxi ride from Knightsbridge. The Hind’s Head is a michellin starred gastropub right next to The Fat Duck (very famous Blumenthal restaurant). The Crooked Billet is excellent near Henley.

For a power lunch:

Green’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar, very old school scene on Duke Street right next to Fortnum & Mason and the very fashionable Jemyn Street. The steak tartare composed table-side is fantastic.

image: loomis luggage

For a quick cheap eat:

Pret-a-Manger- they are everywhere. And the food is very good, well-priced, with organic, vegetarian and vegan options as well. The environmental angle they have taken appeals to the Californian in me (check out the above), rendering this a go-to snack spot. It even beat out even the highly acclaimed Caviar House in Heathrow for my pre-flight purchase– the Caviar bar has fioe gras, too.

Other Honorable Mentions:

Boudin Blanc in Mayfair- in an absolutely charming location, fantastic French food. Pollen Street Social – good bistro, great cocktails and desert bar, very central. Ceccones – there is on in the SoHo House in South Beach, but this is the original one, it’s sceney. Bumpkin for good low key English. And the Painted Heron – great Indian food in Chelsea.